Improvement-in brick-kilns



A v .burning bricks imperfectly calcined.

UNITED STATES V'iMPRCWEIVIENT/ iN BRICK-KILNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. @0,0d6, dated July 2l, 1868.

To alt whom it may concern; I

Be it known that I, HENRY W. ADAMS.' ot

. the city and county of Philadelphia, and Sta-te of Pennsylvania, have invented ,a newaud useful Improvement in Briek-Kilns; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-.

Figure l represents aperspective view of' a kiln-about fifteen feet Wide, and thirty-two feet long, and `twelve feet high, more or less. Other dimensions may be used, if deemed preferable.

LetterA represents one side of the kiln. L indicates an opening into the kiln for filling and emptying it.v M shows 4the tire-tile over the whole length ot' the ire-tlues, to prevent the fire from striking directly against the un-V burnt brick, and over-burning them. K K represent lire-brick set up on their edges, and distant from each other the thickness of one brick, so as to form parallel lues all over the floor ofthe kiln, and under the entire bot-tom of the unburnt bricks when set in the kiln. They are set about flush with the tire-places, and on them rest the iiretiles which cover the iiues, so as to divide and distribute the heat equally over the entire bottom ot' the kiln. N represents the arch, resting on the two opposite sides and ends of the kiln, to prevent the' heat from eva-poratiug from the open.

top, as is new the case, and'also to enable me to employe draft on thetop to lift up through 'the mass of burning bricks the superheated gases and aqueous vapor supplied tothe overhcated liues from without, as well as the heat' set free from the burning fuel. The arch is pierced with eight holes, equally distant from eachA other. The inside .of the kiln being about ten or vtwelve feet wide, and twenty-tive or thirty feet long, more or less, these draft- 4 holes should be thus separated from each4 other, so as to cause the heated gases and vapors to ascend perpendicularly and equally through the kiln, and not draw to a center on `the top, and leave the sides and top ozte represent two joints vof stove-pipe or their equivalents, ittinginto andextending through Ithe arch. For a kiln about the size of the one now described these pipes. should be about i'e inches in`diameter. A cross-pipe unites them. The same arrangement is made on the opposite side of the arch. The pipes Ol Ol unite the last-mentioned pipes attheir middle points with similar ones on the opposite side -of the arch, and should be about seven inches in diameter, so as to receive the contents of 02 02. Then O Ol are united by O, at the center ot' which, and looking upward, is attaeheda ten-inch pipe, 0, which will carryoft' and discharge into the air, or elsewhere, the

smoke and heated products of combustion, -drawiug alike from all parts of the kiln. To

increase the draft of the kiln a jet of steam is .let into/the pipe O through the pipe p, which shoots lup through O, draws air through the iiues, and lifts up the movable steam and heat through the kiln, and renders the' upper portions sutliciently hotbyrobbing the bottom and lower parts of their excess of caloric. V represents a peep-hole, through which to lookin to see when the top of the kiln becomes red hot. R S T T show the arrangement of steam-pipes for conveying steam from a boiler and injecting it into the ilues above the coal or fuel, to be' superheated by contact with the hot sides 4and top ot the saidilues, and drawn up through the interstitial spaces of thekiln, carrying the excess of heat from the bottom to the topof the same. These steam-pipes lie in cold-air lines parallel to the lire -ilues, and. extend through their entire length'. Their opposite ends are plugged up, and their s ides, next to the fires, are pierced with tine holes about two feet apart, from which line jets ot' steai'nes-V cape, through small draftholesinto` the hrci places. I

The object of this is to enable me to remove, at pleasure, the superabundaut heat which accumulates in the bottom of the kiln, and dainages the lower courses of the burnin g bricks, to the upper portions, where it is needed to bring the upper courses t0 the desired cherryrcd heat. The amount of steam thus enr ployed is regulated by a stop-cock, and depends on the redundancy otheat which the base of the kiln1nay,from time to time, ac-

quire. Y

liig. 2 shows a section ot' the kiln cut oil', exposing to View its interior, as shown at Il, and uncovering the ire-lues C C, the cold-an' dues H H D D, the ash-pits C C', the openings from the air-tiues into the fire-places U G F F, the'steam-pipes E E, the grate-bars, and

the fire-tiles M M, covering the lireplaces and nia-ker.

resting on the-tirc-bricks K'K K, turned up edgcwise, and separated from each other by a-space cqual to their thickness, for forming cross-fines to distribute and circulate the heat uniformlyfunder the whole kiln. A and L represent the thickness of the walls, and N shows the arch resting upon them. Iil a kiln ten feet wide on its inside-and thirty feet-long the lire-'places are about sixteen inches square,

the ash-pits C C the saine, the air-ilucsvH H Il) D eight inches square, the number of openupon their edges' k 7i: k, and leaving spaces between them, the lire-tile M rests, covering the nre-places, and compelling. the escaping hea-t to diverge sidewise, enter the numerous narrow spaces, and distribute'itself over' the entire bottom, and thus ascend equally through the kiln.l The object is to ,protect the lower courses of bricks from the destructive act-ion.

.'of an intenseiire' playing directly upon them.

The present method is to form the walls of the fireplaces with the unburnt bricks, and to arch them over with "the same. lhe'eonsequence is, that several ot the lower vcourses' `are melted, twisted, and depreciated in value by this excessive heat. B y the present method,

also, the entire'top of the kiln is opento the air. The heat, being uncontined, escapes into the air, and fails to burn the'top courses suiciently to render them hard and turn them to a deep-red color. The want of an adequate artificial draft causes a deficiency of hot gases to ascend upward and heat the top, and especlally when anthracite coal is used, and in- Vdam p and rainy Weather. The deprivation of the white-hot lines of steam, to absorb their excessive ardor, and lift it np into the higher and less calcined parts of the kiln, necessarily permits too much heat to accumulate atthe bottom andtoo little to rise to the top.

The want of uniformity in burning a kiln is ythe most damaging drawback to the brick- VVhile human ingenuity has beenA taxed Lo its utmost for many yea-rs to devise and perfect machines for molding and pressing bricks, very little attention hasbeen paid to burning them in a more skillful and profitable manner.

The general testimony of. brick-makers, ob-

v tained by recent inquiries, is, that the` lil-st "quarter of a fresh-burnt kiln, taken from the top, is composed of soft brick, not snflicientiy burned,easily broken, and crumbling to powder by the action of the elements. In a kiln -of two hundred thousand, the first fifty thousand are worth at this time, in this vicinity, seven dollars per thousand. The seco'nd quarter is valued at twelve dollars per thousand 5 the third at thirty-five, and the fourth is seriously damaged by being too much burned, and varies in value. From this it appears that the first quarter is worth three hundred and fifty dollars; the second quarter, six-hundred; the' third, lseventeen hundred and fifty, and the fourth much depreciated., It further results that if the irstqnarter could be burned as well as the second, a profit of two hundred and fifty dollars would be savedto the manufacturer and if the first could bebnrned as well as lthe third, a further profit would accrue of fourteen hundred dollars 5 and if the second were burned as perfectly as the third,

va stilladditional saving would be realized ofeleven hundred and Iifty dollars. If, then,

the first three quarters could be burned alike, a clear advance of twenty-live hundred and 'nfty dollars would be made by the manufacturer. Besides, it' the last quarter could bev as. perfectly burned,A at least five hundred dollars more would be gained.

`From .these well-ascertained results, every kiln of two hundred-thousand bricks would be worth three thousand dollars more, if proply and equally burned, than it is now. This amount-would be over three times vas great if pressed brick could thus be uniformly burned,

A greatopportunity for lthe improvement-of the present' nnskillful and unscientilic mode 4of.` brick-burning obviously-exists.

'To' contribute something toward this im` ,portant improvementv has been myobjeet in rdevising a new andbetter plan. LI have shown one mode of constructing' my kiln. I do not confine myself" to this method.l Many others may be substituted. AIt may be circular, with a circular arch. Itmay be dug in the ground and the arch rest on the 'sides of the pit, where sloping elevations are conve'uf' ient. The arch may be covered with ea-rth'or sand to protect and seal it more perfectly. But the life of my invention consists in a new method. of producing, distributing, transporting, and retaining the necessary heat in all parts of the kiln, so as neit er to overbnrn the 4bottom nor underburn tie top, butto. equalize the heat of both by means of a positive, reliable, and instantaneous power to supply anydesirable degree of heat to all parts of the kiln ali-ke. rlhis Iaccomplish by the combination of a covered, air-tight kiln with a powerful draft, procured bya jet' ot' steam, as represented, arranged to draw alike from all parts of the kiln, as indicated by my draftpipes, and yet under the control of a stopcock, together with the accurate and positive manner of introducing large or small quantities of air and steam into the nre-places, one or both, or neitherthe former to promote perfect combustion, andthe latter tobecome supcrhcated at the expense of the overheated fire-places and bottom bricks, vand -bo'th to carry up more caloric to ylne distribntedand anche utilized in bringing the topmost courses, a

- cherry-red heat.. These combined' means hold indispensablerelations to each other.`

L An arched Vor covered kiln, without a sharp and controllable steanrjet to produce just such a draft as may from time `to time be Wanted,. would be worse than none. .A draft suchl as this could not be had Without a covered kiln.,

and vneither would be useful without a supply of air` to the largeair-dues to rush through' the openings into the fire-places, like streams.

"from'a bellows, when the draft isstrong on'- the top; and this air again would produceg" such intense heat as to puddle down the lower part of the kiln, unless I had the ready means of tempering the heat by letting in steam to transport it to the top and distribute it through all the interstices of the kiln.-

By shutting off theV steam from the nues, opening the doors of the large air-passages,

increasin'g'the draft on the top, by letting on more steam, and supplying more fuel to the tire, the heat' is suddenly increased at the.

bottom. i

'By letting on steam into the nre-places when the bottom is thus overheated, and closing the doors to the air-passages, therlower part is cooled and the upper part rendered hotter. In fact the heat is under perfect control, and it is only necessary to have'a little' experience in regulating it to burn a kiln of `bricks Without burningl them too much or too I lire so hard and so long' as to damage the bottom in order to half-burn the top. AIn addition I can'save considerable coal. I can send my waste heat from the draft-pipe 0 under the boiler to make my steam. I can hold the red heat in the kiln much longer than in the present .uncovered kilns; When the top of the kiln is at a cherry-red heat,'and has remained so a day or more, by stopping the draft on the top, adding only a small quantity of fuel, shutting 'up the doors of the air'passages, andiinally closing up all the doors tight, the heat will remain hot enough to complete the burning without any more fuel. Another advantage is, that I can cool down my kiln, so as to vempty it, in much less time than it requires to cool 'the present kilns. By opening the doors of the air-fines and letting on thedraftA on the top, so as to draw cold airup through the kiln and carry the heat out of the top, the

, process of tempering. down goes on rapidly and safely. rIhe cold'air first passes into the lire-lines and becomes heated beforeit comes in contact with the bricks, and so carries up caloric to the top and gradually discharges it into the air. Hence the .top of the kiln will remain hottest to thelast.

My method of bnrning'brick and other ma terials composed of clay canbe applied equally as well by setting the brick so as to build the. .u

ire and air dues at one end 'of` the kiln, and drawpthe hot products of combustion and l'superheated steam horizontally through the Whole kiln by means of the steam-draft at the `other end ofthe kiln. In this case the kilnV Mwould belonger than its height, and the top .would be covered by any method bestadapted fto renderthekln air-tight. Another benefit o'f'znyfkiln is,.that vgreen or undricd brick can uloefset up directly in it and dried prior to burning by drawing air through the mass by means of th'e-'steam-draft, substantially as shown and described. This saves the time and expense of handling and drying the undried brick be-4 fore setting them in the kiln.

Having given a full, clear, and .exact description ofthe constructionfand operation of my improved kiln, What I'clairn, andrdesireto secure by Letters Patent, is y 1. The peculiar arrangement of the numerous and narrow heatdistributing ues y at right angles to and in combination with the covered fireplaces C @,for receiving, dividing, and conveying their heat underneath the entire bottom of the bricks when set in the kiln to beburned,substantially as described.

2. The air-dues HH D D, in combination Withthe openings Gr G F F into the nre-places C C, substantiallyin the manner and for the purposes set forth.

3. The steam-pipes R S T T in Fig.1, and

passages F F andilues E E in Fig. 2, in combination with the fire-places C C, for the obl)ects indicated, and substantially'in the manner shown. p

V4i. The arrangement of the pipes-p,-O2 O2, Ol 01, O3, and O, in combination with a covered brick-kiln, for exhausting the smoke and gas 4 cous products of combustion and superheated steam in an equal and uniform method from all parts ofthe kiln, for the objectsl described, and substantially as represented.

5. The use of-a jet of steam to; create a draft at the top or end of thefrbrickkiln, substantially as shown, and for the ends proposed.

6. The combination and arrangement of the exhaust'- pipe 0v`vhen supplied with a jet of steam, With lthe tire-places O C, and with the air-fines H H D 1),and with the opeuingsGG f F F, and with the steam-pipes E E imrFig, 2,

when they severally supply those vehiclesb' heat to the bottom of the kiln, which the steamjet issuing from O pumps from its top, as herein substantially shown and described.

7:'Thc construction and operation of the brick-kiln, substantially as shown and explained, and for the purposes set forth.

HENRY W. ADAMS.

Witnesses:

J oHN WHITE,- 3 WILLIAM F. Cox. 

